


Warm Soul

by WildMagic



Series: The Soul [10]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha Liam, Alpha Louis, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Babysitter!Josh, Beta Niall, Broken Heart, Daddy!Nick, Lirry - Freeform, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Minor Character Death, Mpreg, Omega Harry, Omega Zayn, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poor, Single Parent Harry, Teenager!Josh, alternat universe - Single Parent, although it could be classed as major I suppose, ceo!liam, depends how you look at it, ill!Noah, looking for job, papa!harry, rich!liam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-03-11 00:44:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3309386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildMagic/pseuds/WildMagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Harry laughed under his breath as he watched his Alpha go. He loved Nick, with all his heart. He didn’t know what he had done to justify deserving Nick. Without Nick, Harry wasn’t sure that how he would have gone on – not after his mother had died. Nick had helped him with everything, ever since he had met him at the hospital on the night of his mother’s death. Nick had been a friend and then, before Harry knew it the two were mated and Harry was expecting Darcy.</em><br/>Harry is left to take care of his kids single handily, when his mate dies. Harry does everything he can to keep going for his children, including working long hours just to ensure that they have a roof over their heads, food in their bellies and clothes on their backs. But being an Omega limits his options for employment. He finds himself at the Job Centre one day, after being fired again (simply because caring for his children had made him late). And it’s there that he meets Liam Payne.<br/>Let’s just say; sparks fly.</p><p>(PART OF A SERIES! CAN BE READ SEPARATELY! STORIES ARE NOT CONNECTED!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets some dreadful news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a role tonight!! And this one is 1917 words long!! Not too long, but longer than I expected!! I hope you like this one!! I wasn't too sure about it, but I started writing and I think I'm in love with it now!!

** **

** Chapter 1 **

“Goodnight sweetheart,” Harry whispered as he bent down to kiss his 3 year old daughter on the forehead.

“Night, night Papa,” The little girl mumbled back, just as she broke into a yawn. Harry smiled slightly and sat down on the edge of her bed.

It was 7pm and it was young Darcy’s bedtime. She was knackered after a trip to the zoo with her nursery. Nick had picked her up and she had come home and talked and talked and talked, she told her parents every single detail of her day. She’d curled up on her Papa’s chest after dinner, as they watched TV and had fallen asleep. She woke to the sound of her baby brother crying. Nick had gotten up to see to baby Noah, telling Harry to stay with Darcy. She had been snuggling back into her father’s chest to go back to sleep when Harry decided to carry her up to bed.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he began stroking her hair, keeping the unruly curls out her face. He began softly singing ‘Isn’t she Lovely’ and the song, that had become the little girl’s lullaby, helped her eyes close as she drifted off to dream land.

Harry smiled down at his daughter before kissing her forehead and standing up. He smiled at Nick who was in the doorway.

“Noah okay?” Harry whispered, as he too stood in the doorway of Darcy’s bedroom. Nick turned to face his mate.

“Fine, little guy just needed a cuddle s’all,” Nick whispered back, titling his head and letting his lips touch his mates for a second or two. “Should I get the wine?” He asked, with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

Harry’s face lit up, and Nick knew that he’d reeled him in. Wine always meant ‘adult time’ – something they rarely got with their kids around. As quietly as he could, Nick left the doorway and hastily tiptoed down the landing, with a little giggle.

“Don’t be too long!” Nick called back quietly. “I want to be buried deep in that Omega ass in 5 minutes!”

Harry laughed under his breath as he watched his Alpha go. He loved Nick, with all his heart. He didn’t know what he had done to justify deserving Nick. Without Nick, Harry wasn’t sure that how he would have gone on – not after his mother had died. Nick had helped him with everything, ever since he had met him at the hospital on the night of his mother’s death. Nick had been a friend and then, before Harry knew it the two were mated and Harry was expecting Darcy.

Harry took one last look into his daughter’s room, smiling at her sleeping form, before switching off the light and pulling the door to an almost stop. He made a quick stop to the room opposite Darcy’s to check on the 8 month old, little boy. Deciding that his kids were okay, Harry made his way downstairs.

Nick rushed out of the kitchen to greet him.

“I already drank mine and I couldn’t be bothered to unlock the cupboard and get the wine glasses out,” Nick explained as he handed a mug over to Harry. “So I used mugs instead.”

“Sometimes I wonder why I even mated you,” Harry sighed, his voice full of sarcasm as he took the mug from the slightly taller man.

“Eh, come on – life would suck without me,” Nick exclaimed as he titled his head again, and kissing Harry, but for slightly longer this time.

“Maybe just a little,” Harry mumbled, crouching down to put his untouched red wine on the floor. With the mug out of his hands, Nick quickly crowded Harry against the nearest wall. Harry squeaked out of surprise when his back his the bright yellow paint, but he didn’t get time to protest as Nick’s lips sealed his in a full on snog.

Nick’s tongue was very explorative and soon he disconnected his lips from Harry’s and reconnected them to Harry’s earlobe, lightly nibbling on the flesh – finding ecstasy in the dirty moan that escaped from deep within his little Omega.

“Mm,” Nick moaned his agreement. “Gonna make you feel so good baby.”

Harry closed his eyes as Nick resumed his nibbling. Once again, like he did every night, Harry thanked whoever it was looking out for him, for gifting him with such a perfect life.

____

Harry was woken at about 4:30am, when Nick kissed his forehead.

“Sorry love,” He had whispered. “I’m just heading off to work now. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Nick worked at the hospital, when the pair had met there he had been a trainee. But now he was making his way up and he was a well-respected Doctor. But, unfortunately, having a Doctor as a mate meant weird, fuck-ass, working hours.

“Home by 3 yeah?” Harry had mumbled, shutting his tired eyes one more time.

“3pm, on the dot – promise,” Nick had whispered back, before pressing a kiss to Harry’s forehead again just before Harry fell back to sleep.

When he woke again, it was light and Harry felt a little different – but he couldn’t put his finger on what the problem was. It took Harry a moment to realise what had woken him. It was a couple of things; he could hear Noah crying; Darcy was calling ‘Papa! Papa! There’s someone at the door! Papa!’ and there was a loud, continuous knock on the front door – travelling through the house.

Harry swung his legs out of bed and checked the time as he quickly found a clean pair of boxers. It was a little before 8am – who the hell would be calling round at 8am in the morning? When he had his boxers on, he left the room, stretching as he went.

“Papa!! Papa!!”

“Alright Darcy!” Harry cried back at the girl that was stood at the top of the stairs, unable to get down due to the stair gate blocking her path. “I’ll be there in a minute!” The 3 year old fell silent and Harry sighed in relief as he entered Noah’s nursery.

“Hiya baby boy,” Harry cooed down, over the side of the cot. He lowered the railing and picked the boy up. Having no time to perform a nappy change, he placed a dummy in the little boy’s mouth, stationed him on his hip and all but ran down the landing. “Alright, alright!” Harry screamed at the door. “I’m coming!”

Whoever was at the door seemed to have heard him as the knocks stopped. Harry quickly picked up Darcy in his other arm, not having the time to help her walk down the stairs and moved them through the two stair gates. Once on the ground floor of the house, he lowered Darcy back to the ground and told her to not touch anything as he went to answer the door.

The knocking stopped when the door was opened. And Harry had not been expecting who was stood on his porch. There he was, only in his boxers, with sex-hair and a baby on his hip, standing in front of two Alpha police officers.

“Harry Grimshaw?” One of them asked.

“Yes?” Harry asked. He knew Nick wouldn't like the fact that he had answered the door to anyone in just his underwear, let alone the police. But getting dressed had been the least of his worries just 2 minutes ago – he decided then and there that he wasn’t going to tell Nick about this run in, unless it was important. He hoped that it was just about Mrs Next Door again, complaining about all the noise they made during sex last night.

“You are Nicholas Grimshaw’s Omega, correct.” The other questioned.

“Yeah…” Harry dragged the word out, as he titled his head back into the house to check quickly on Darcy. She was sat on the floor, with a white mug in her hand. She was just about to take a sip when Harry realised that it was his red wine from the night before. “Darcy!” He cried, stalking towards his daughter, leaving the two police officers stood in the doorway. “What do you think you’re doing?!” He snatched the mug from her hands.

“It’s blackcurrant!” Darcy defended herself.

“Yes,” Harry lied. “But we don’t drink out of Papa’s mug, do we?”

“No Papa,” Darcy answered sadly, with a pout. She rarely got snapped at by Harry and it was a shock to the system when she did.

Harry sighed, hoisted Noah back up his hip while trying not to spill the wine as he turned back to the doorway.

“Is this important officers?” He asked, just as snappy as he had just been with his daughter. “I have 2 infants to take care of right this moment, so if this could wait I would be very grateful.”

“I’m afraid it can’t Mr Grimshaw,” The second officers said.

“May we come in?” The first added. “We need to have a chat.”

“Uh,” Harry cast a quick glance around the place, noting the mess. “As long as you don’t mind the mess, then sure.”

The officers let Harry get his children sorted (he changed Noah and put the boy in a baby grow and made Darcy breakfast) before Harry led them into the living room. He sat Darcy and her cocopops in front of the TV to watch Fireman Sam and he set Noah down in his playpen in the corner of the room before inviting the officers a seat on the sofa. He sat down in the arm chair, almost opposite them.

“What seems to be the problem?” Harry asked. He still hadn’t managed to get changed himself, but didn’t waste time grabbing Nick’s shirt from the back of the armchair and sliding it on, over himself. Nick’s scent hit him, and Harry smiled at the warmth it brought him. He closed his eyes as he felt the morning’s problems wash away.

But after a couple of quick seconds, the scent of his mate made Harry realise something; made him realise why he had felt a little different than this morning. Nick wasn’t present within him – their mating bond had been severed.

Harry’s eyes snapped open and he let out an unattractive noise. He gripper the shirt tightly in his hands as he rounded on the officers.

“Oh god! Is he okay?! Tell me he’s okay!”

The officers didn’t say anything for a moment, they had wondered why Harry hadn’t been upset from the moment he opened the door – surely he could feel the mating bond had broken; that did things to people. But it was clear that Harry had been too caught up taking care of his kids to realise what was missing.

“When was the last time you saw your Alpha, Mr Grimshaw.”

“Tell me he’s okay!” Harry demanded to know.

“Papa?” Darcy whimpered. Harry’s harsh tone had grabbed her attention.

Harry blinked, before turning to his daughter.

“It’s alright sweetheart,” He assured her. “Just watch TV while Papa talks to these nice men, okay?”

Darcy nodded slowly, turning back to the screen and her breakfast cereal. Harry’s eyes quickly found the police officers again.

“Please,” Harry whispered. “What happened?”

“The accident happened at about 6:30am,” The first police officer stated. “I’m sorry, Mr Grimshaw… your Alpha, Nick, is… dead.”

With just that one word, combined with Nick’s name… Harry’s world, as he knew it, came crashing down.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so what's the verdict? Let me know? Thank you!!  
> Feedback is appreciated!!  
> xxRiverMagicxx


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2 months later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh!! I am in LOVE with Papa Harry!! He is just so darn good with his children!! I can't wait to write more!!

** Chapter 2 **

_2 months later_

Harry placed a slice banana on Noah’s highchair tray. Noah stopped his nonsense babbling; he started banging his feet against the footrest and his little hands clapped excitedly as they fruit was set down in front of him. He picked up a limy piece of fruit with a developing pincer hold and looked up at Harry with a smile on his face and he placed the slice in his mouth.

“Who’s a happy boy this morning?” Harry cooed, smiling and ruffling Noah’s dark head of hair. He pressed a light kiss to Noah’s forehead as Noah returned to his fruit. “Papa likes it when you’re happy.”

“Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa,” Noah agreed, before gobbling down another slice of banana.

Harry chuckled and turned back to the side. He made quick work of a bowl of Cheerio’s for his daughter.

“Darcy,” He called. “Breakfast sweetheart!”

“But Papa,” She wailed from the living room. “It’s getting to the good bit!”

Harry sighed as he set the milk carton down on the side.

Just a week after they’d received the news of Nick’s death, Harry had moved himself and his two children to the outskirts of town. They now lived in a tiny, 2 bedroom flat. It was as much as Harry could afford; without the money rolling in from Nick’s high paying job, money was scarce. Because he was an Omega, Harry was having difficulty finding jobs, and in two months he was already on his 3rd job.

Of course, employment for Omega’s was few and far between. Most companies were looking for Alpha’s or Beta’s – stronger people to build a stronger work force. This meant the lower paying jobs, such as cooks, housekeepers and nursery nurses were mainly occupied by Omega’s. Harry was currently employed as a waiter.

He knew that he wouldn’t be doing too badly if it was just him, but he had his children to think about. And they came before everything. Nappies certainly didn’t come cheap; Noah had gone through a growth spurt and desperately needed new clothes; he was having to pay for a babysitter between the hours of 4pm and 11pm, to cover his working hours – on top of having to pay for Darcy’s nursery fees. Darcy was also preparing to go up to school in September and that had taken all of Harry’s pay check for a month. And that was not even mentioning the rent and the bills that had to pay every month to keep the house running. Then he had to make sure that there was food on the table for Darcy and Noah (most nights Harry just snacked on leftovers).

Nick had been involved in a car accident. The morning had been a foggy one, but Nick was a careful driver – he always had been, especially after Darcy had been born. He had been on the motorway, only heading down two junctions. He shouldn’t have been in any trouble – he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; there was a driver who was DUI – he was high and had caused a 20 car pileup. Harry had not been the only one to lose a mate.

Harry missed Nick terribly and couldn’t go a day without thinking of him. He had been torn from his mate; that did things to people. It sent most people mad. But Harry had a reason to stay sane – his children needed him. He had battled with social services for 2 weeks after Nick’s death; they had been worried that Harry wouldn’t even be able to take care of himself, let alone his children. Harry had fought to keep his children under his roof, nearly losing them one night when two social workers turned up on his doorstep telling him that they were taking Darcy and Noah. Thankfully, he’d managed to convince everyone that he was more than capable of looking after his children. However, that didn’t stop his now assigned social worker from turning up unannounced once a week to ‘check up on him’.

“Come on Darcy,” Harry called again.

“But papa!” Darcy complained.

“Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa,” Noah mumbled, banging his hands on his highchair tray, catching Harry’s attention.

“Alright little man?” He cooed with a smile and a soft finger stroking his baby cheek. If Noah was not eating, Harry would have marched into the living room and switched the TV off. But he was not about to leave his 10 month old son by himself.

“Now Darcy!”

Darcy stomped into the room after a moment or two with a scowl. Harry fought a smile at the sight of her, clearly forced face.

“What’s with the face Darcy-Doo?” Harry asked lightly, setting her bowl of cereal in front of her.

“I want to watch TV!” She pouted.

“We can watched TV after nursery, yeah? We’ll come home and watch 100 episodes of Sofia the First,” he over exaggerated for his daughter.

“Okay,” She agreed enthusiastically, before tucking into her cheerio’s.

“M-m-m-m-m-m!” Noah demanded attention, his banana all gone.

“You can watch too little man,” Harry laughed as he reached for the cheerio’s box in the middle of the table. He tipped a few onto the tray and let Noah tuck into them greedily, keeping a close eye on him with the small cereal. “You’re a greedy piggy,” Harry smiled, ruffling Noah’s hair again, as the infant stared up at his Papa with wide eyes.

“Pa-pa-pa-pa,” Noah chanted. He could babble a lot of sounds, but pa-pa-pa was his favourite one.

“Yes you are.”

“What am I Papa?” Darcy asked, wining her feet.

“Ohhh, I don’t know,” Harry pretended to be think hard. “I know! You are a beautiful butterfly.”

“I don’t want to be a butterfly,” Darcy frowned.

“What do you want to be then?” Harry asked, turning to fill Noah’s sippy cup with water from the tap.

“I want to be a knight! Like Mike the Knight!”

Harry made sure the lid of the sippy-cup was on tightly before putting it down on Noah’s pushchair.

“A knight?” Harry asked curiously. “Is that so?”

“Yep,” Darcy smiled over her bowl. “And you are the princess I have to save.”

“That means that Noah’s the evil fire-breathing dragon that’s keeping the princess locked in a castle!”

“No Papa!” Darcy moaned as she finished her cereal. “Noah isn’t a dragon.”

Harry sighed and dramatically put his hands on his hips. He looked to Noah, who burst into a huge smile at the sight of his Papa. He looked back at Darcy.

“Then what is he?”

“He is an evil fire-breathing pig!” Darcy laughed.

“Oh no!” Harry cried, mouth dropping open and hands finding the sides of his face. “That’s even worse than the dragon!”

“Don’t worry Papa!” Darcy exclaimed, jumping from the chair. She raised his arm, pretending to be armed with a sword. “I will save you!”

Harry ran round the table, being chased by Darcy who was pretending to slay other evil fire-breathing farm animals. Noah was squirming and beginning to whine as he tried to get up out of the highchair; he wanted to be running too.

Harry swooped down and removed the tray quickly and easily as Darcy was fighting with, what she described as a very angry marshmallow-breathing horse.

“Alright, alright,” Harry mumbled lowly to Noah, who was squirming more. “Stay still bud,” He made quick work of the strap and pulled Noah from the highchair. He set the boy on the floor, holding his hands as he steadied himself. He held his sippy-cup in one hand and when he was firmly on his feet he let go of Harry.

“Oh no! Knight Darcy!” Harry cried, taking a step back. Noah giggled his cute little baby giggle as he began walking toward his Papa slowly. “The evil fire-breathing piggy is chasing me!”

“I’m coming Princess Papa!” Darcy called heroically as she dashed round the table.

Darcy jumped in front of Harry, halting Noah’s walking. The sudden stop made Noah fall back onto his bum, but the little boy just smiled up at his older sister. Harry couldn’t help but laugh as Darcy used her imaginary sword to stab Noah; Noah just burst out laughing while holding his hands out to be picked up.

“Okay, okay,” Harry laughed, bending down to pick up Noah. The boy calmed, still smiling as Harry gently tickled his tummy. “Thank you for saving me Knight Darcy – but I think we better get you ready for Nursery, eh?”

____

Happy Noah didn’t last long.

Harry had strapped him into his pushchair so that they could walk Darcy to her Nursery. He had been happy enough to babble to himself and his toy monkey as Harry helped Darcy put her shoes, coat and reins on. The walk to the nursery had been a good one, Darcy chatting all the way there and Noah babbling.

When they got to the nursery, Harry had to get Noah out of the pushchair so that they could enter the nursery room and sign Darcy in. The parents were allowed to stay for as long as they wanted, but most left almost straight away. Harry always stayed for 5-10 minutes to make sure that Darcy was settled. He had let Noah wonder off to the Lego, knowing that the staff would watch over his for a few moments while he said his goodbyes to Darcy. But as soon as Harry picked Noah from the floor, Noah screamed, failing his arms and legs around. He wanted to continue playing with the Lego with the older boy he’d just met – but his Papa obviously had other ideas.

Strapping him back into his pushchair had been the hardest part. He arched his back every time Harry tried to push him in. Trying to reason with a 10 month old was like trying to get blood from a rock when your child was Noah Grimshaw. Resorting to desperate measures, Harry reached into the nappy bag that was under the seat of the pushchair, and pulled a dummy out of the nappy-bag. Noah happily took the plastic bulb in his mouth and instantly went lax, allowing Harry to feed his arms through the straps and connect them to the strap at Noah’s crotch.

The dummy was something that Harry had been trying to wean Noah off; Noah had never been attached to it as much as some children his age – but Harry didn’t want to see him 3 or 4 years old and still using it as comfort, like he saw some of the children in the nursery doing.

Harry pushed the stroller out of the nursery and made his way to the supermarket to purchase some bread, milk and banana’s – they were running out and the tenner that Harry had in his pocket was all that they had left until Harry got paid tomorrow.

Noah continued to be grumpy at Harry for the rest of the day. His screams echoed through the block of flats as he refused to go down for a nap, he didn’t want to feed himself – the cottage pie being thrown on the floor and falling over his bib and when Harry tried to feed him instead, he was having none of that, turning his head away from the spoon as Harry brought it close to his lips. He finally tired himself out round about 2pm and fell asleep after demanding to be picked up.

So picking up Darcy had been easy – Noah staying asleep the whole way, even when Harry picked him up out of the pushchair to head into the nursery room.

As soon as they had got home, he’d had to wake him up, otherwise he wouldn’t sleep for the babysitter later. He hadn’t been too pleased about that either, but he sat in his playpen and continuously bashed two wooden bricks together.

When the babysitter had arrived, Harry was just dishing up tea.

“Hiya Josh,” Harry smiled as he let Josh into the flat.

“Hiya Mr Styles,” He greeted as he stepped into the flat. Harry had recently changed his name back to he’s maiden name a week after the funeral. He was never going to change his kid’s last names, wanting them to carry on their father’s name with pride, even though they wouldn’t remember him.

“It’s Harry! How many times do I have to remind you?”

Josh wasn’t yet presented, only 15 years old. But he was reliable, and he always did an amazing job of looking after Darcy and Noah.

“Sorry,” Josh apologised, smiling back.

“Come on through,” Harry invited. “I’m just putting dinner on the table.”

They entered the kitchen, where Harry moved over to the side to continue dishing up fish fingers.

“Ga-ga-ga,” Noah babbled, upon spotting Josh. He had pushed himself up from the playpen which was over in the corner of the kitchen, so that Harry could keep an eye on him when he was in there.

“Hiya Noah,” Josh cooed, lifting Noah out of the pen. “How are you?” He made baby talk as the little boy pulled at his hair.

“Darcy!” Harry called. Unlike this morning, she hurried into the kitchen.

“Josh!” She cried when she spotted the babysitter. She flung her arms around the teenager’s legs and clung on tightly. Harry placed Darcy’s plate on the table and allowed Josh to put Noah in his highchair before putting the chopped up fish fingers, chips and peas on the tray for him.

“Okay,” Harry brushed his hands together. “There’s leftovers if you want some,” Harry nodded to the plate where there were 3 more fish fingers left. “Help yourself. Now, Noah’s been a bit grumpy today, he refused to go down for his lap earlier, but did sleep for 2 hours when I picked Darce up from Nursery. So, I’m hoping that he’ll sleep for you. If not,” Harry moved to one of the kitchen’s top cupboards where he silently showed Josh the dummy that he had hid there.

“Got it!”

“And Darcy has got a bit of a scrape on her knee after she fell over on the way home – she’ll be okay though – we’ve put some ‘special’ cream on. Don’t let her guilt trip you into thinking it’s hurting or anything. She’ll be fine!”

Harry could see that Josh was mentally taking note of what was being said as he nodded.

“Okay – will you be alright here if I go and get ready for work?” Harry asked.

“Sure,” Josh smiled, taking a seat at the table.

“Thanks,” Harry rushed off to his bedroom to change into his waiter’s uniform. As he left, his heart broke at the sound of Noah’s cries for his Papa. He was at the age where he didn’t like his caregiver leaving the room. It took him 4 minutes to get dressed and shrug on his coat. He popped his head round the kitchen door. “I’m off now kids,” Harry called.

Darcy was munching her way slowly through tea and Noah was being bounced lightly on Josh’s lap to sooth him. It wasn’t working. He spotted Harry in the doorway and held out his hands in desperation to be held by his Papa.

Harry took him and continued the bouncing as he spoke to his son.

“Papa’s gotta go to work now bud,” He smoothed the boys hair back. “But I’ll be back soon. I promise,” He sealed the promise with a kiss to his nose. Noah started babbling ‘pa-pa-pa-pa’ over and over again as Harry handed him back to Josh. Because Harry was still in the room, Noah didn’t scream. “You be good for Josh now, Darcy,” Harry spoke as he bent down to kiss Darcy’s forehead.

“Yes Papa,” She mumbled round a fish finger.

“If Josh lets you, you can watch a movie before bed time, okay.”

It took 10 whole minutes to get out of the house with saying goodbye to his two children and promising to pay Josh as soon as he got home.

____

Harry let himself into the block of flats. It was only 9 o’clock, a whole 2 hours before he was even supposed to be finished work. He called the lift, not too sure that he was going to be able to make it up 2 flights of stairs without falling to the ground in disappointment.

He got in the lift when the metal doors opened and pushed the 2nd floor button. The doors closed and the lift started travelling upwards. Harry moved back and lent against one of the cold metal walls.

In his pocket was his weeks wages; but it was the last he would ever receive from the restaurant. When he had dropped the tray (and it wasn’t the first time he’d done it) the boss had outright fired him in front of everyone. He’d followed the man to his office and begged for the money he’d earned – he was out and he needed to top up on food, and pay the water bill – that money was his lifeline! Thankfully, the boss hadn’t been completely heartless and had given him his week’s wages.

Making his way into the flat, he wasn’t surprised to see Josh hurrying to see who had just entered the apartment.

“Harry?” He asked.

“Hiya Josh,” Harry smiled weakly. He walked into the living room, where the TV was playing a racing film that Harry had no interest in.

The keys were deposited on the coffee table, and Harry shrugged his coat off and dragged it over an armchair. His waistcoat was unbuttoned and Harry slumped down into the chair. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the cash. He counted out £20 and handed it over.

“Were they okay for you?”

“Noah was a bit restless after you left, but other than that I haven’t heard a peep from them since I put them to bed two hours ago,” Josh explained as he took the extended money with a quiet thank you.

“Okay, great. Sorry I’m home early. They decided to fire me – not waiter material or something like that,” Harry scoffed.

“I’m sure they just haven’t seen your full potential,” Josh tried.

“Oh Josh,” Harry smiled over kindly at the boy. “You’re always full of positive comments, aren’t you?”

“Worlds going nowhere if no one is positive about it,” Josh smiled.

Harry laughed, agreeing with him.

“Thanks for all your help tonight.”

After seeing Josh out, Harry turned the TV off and checked on Darcy and Noah. They were both sleeping silently, with smiles on their faces.

It didn’t take Harry long to get down to his boxers. He didn’t bother getting changed in his pjs, instead just collapsed on the double bed with a loud sigh. He knew that he was going to be busy tomorrow – popping back to the job centre to ask for any job going; just so that he could take care of his children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darcy or Noah?  
> I personally are loving little Noah!!  
> Also - I'd just like to make note of the whole weaning Noah off of the dummy (or pacifier if you're American) - what I say above, about Harry not wanting Noah to be still relying on a dummy at the age of 3 or 4 - I have no problem with children having dummy's, at any age!! I work with children and see this on a daily basis!! Also, I can understand that 10 months is a bit young to be weaning him off of the dummy - but Noah isn't actually that attached to it, so Harry is gradually trying to take it out of the picture before he DOES get attached to it. It was the same for me when I was that age - my parents gradually took it out of the picture for me at that age, instead I got a teddy (which I still use for comfort now! at nearly 18!!) Hence why Noah has a monkey teddy!!  
> Let me know what you think of this!!  
> Liam and Harry will meet soon!!  
> Feedback is appreciated!!  
> xxRiverMagicxx


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets fired from another job and meets the surprisingly handsome Liam for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay - this is so not my best work, and it's not edited!! So i apologize in advance!!  
> I'm hoping you like it - this chapter is sort of the bridge for the rest of the story!!

** Chapter 3 **

“Papa?”

Harry’s eyes snapped open at the whisper, his hands going round to hold Noah closer to his chest. Harry turned his head to the side to spot Darcy stood there in her nightdress.

“Papa, it’s morning now,” She pointed towards the window, where the curtains had not been closed.

Harry grumbled something, his head falling back into his pillow. His right hand was holding Noah’s nappied bum and his left was rubbing the 11 month old’s back.

Noah had come down with a chesty cough and cold. His coughing was nasty and often, and Harry had been really worried about him. He’d obviously taken time off work to care for his poor, sick boy and had taken him to the Doctors, to find out what was wrong and to nurse him back to health. The Dr had reassured Harry that Noah had just caught a bad cold and had prescribed some antibiotics and cough medicine to help; telling him to come back in a week if he was no better.

In his ill state, little Noah did not like parting from his Papa’s touch – screaming whenever Harry put him down, even for a second; not calming until Harry picked him up again. The boy was even able to sense when Harry put him down when he was sleeping, waking in an instant and screaming again. His cough was worse during the night, sometimes causing him to throw up a little and even if Noah had let Harry put him down, Harry didn’t fancy the chance of putting him to sleep in his cot during the night – he was too scared that he wouldn’t make it to the boy in time.

So, for the past 3 days, Noah had been attached to Harry.

For the past 3 nights, Harry had taken Noah to bed with him, waking every time that his baby started coughing and spluttering. Noah slept most of the night, flat out on Harry’s chest, finding comfort in the warmth and security of his Papa.

“Good morning Darcy,” Harry chuckled lowly, trying to put of a brave face and not show how tired or exhausted he was, as his daughter climbed up onto his bed. She crawled up the mattress, lying down on the left of Harry, resting her head on Harry’s shoulder and placing one of her dainty hands on Noah’s head.

“Is Noah better yet?” She whispered, her voice laced with worry.

Harry’s heart melted at the cute big-sister moment, and had to bite back the aww that was threatening to escape.

“Not yet sweetheart,” Harry mumbled back, just as quietly. “But he’s getting there. He just needs you to be his big sister – yeah?”

“Yeah,” Darcy fell silent, not moving her hand from Noah’s head. Harry lifted his arm to drape around his 3 year old daughter, she snuggled closer to him.

Harry knew that he should get out of bed and face the morning, but he was content with lying here cuddling his two babies. But he knew that he should get up, phone work to tell them that he won’t be in again today, and get Darcy ready for Nursery as best he could while holding Noah to his hip. It was about 5 minutes later, when Harry was sure that Darcy had fallen asleep against him, that his mobile began to ring.

He groaned, tilting his head back and groaning slightly. He ignored it; but when it rang a second time, he had to shake Darcy awake and sit up, hoisting Noah up (while trying not to wake him) and lay him in his arms instead. He reached across to his bedside table and flipped his cheap mobile up, pressing it to his ear.

“Harry,” He grumbled sleepily.

“Styles,” Came the gruff voice of his boss. Harry’s job was nothing fancy; he was basically the kitchen skivvy – his pay was crap, and nobody paid him much attention, apart for a greasy, sleazy Alpha that paid Harry too much attention. His boss was always criticising him for something that was hardly ever Harry’s fault. And of course, the hours were different to his previous job and he had to rely heavily on a childminder for Noah during the day (and boy, they did not come cheap) and Josh in the evening. “I don’t care what the hell is going on. I want you in today.”

“I physically can’t come in! My 11 month old son is sick – I need to take care of him!” Harry snapped.

“I don’t care! I want you in an hour. If I don’t see you – you’re fired.”

Then the phone went dead.

Harry cursed mentally, slamming his phone down on the bedside table.

“What’s wrong Papa?” Darcy asked quietly, kneeling next to her father.

“Nothing sweetheart. Papa’s boss is just being a mean man,” Harry explained softly, eyes glancing to the clock. His eyes went wide when he registered that they were running late – by 30 minutes! They were supposed to be heading out the door in 10!

Harry jumped out of bed, trying to calculate everything he needed to do between now and then. He made a decision – he would turn up at work, no matter how much he wanted to stay home and look after his sick son. So that meant he didn’t have long to get everyone ready and out the door in time. Everyone needed breakfast, and get dressed and ugh – there was so much to do.

Noah started coughing, just as Harry began calling out to Darcy. As he spoke, Harry maneuvered Noah, so the boy was looking over his shoulder and patted his back a couple of times, to try and help the small boy over his morning coughing fit as quickly as possible.

“Darcy! Time to get moving! We’re going to be late for Nursery!”

Noah got over his coughing, and settled down, crying loudly on Harry’s shoulder – holding tightly to him and calling out “Papa” every so often. Harry continued to sooth him, whispering quietly to the boy as he went to pick out Darcy’s outfit for the day. Harry had to weigh up the pro’s and cons and decided that he had to place Noah on the ground, to help Darcy dress – normally Harry would get her to do it herself, but as they were running late today he decided he better do it, so not to waste time.

Of course, Noah did _not_ like being placed on the ground at Harry’s feet. As soon as he knew that Harry was lowering him down, he started kicking his legs and gripping tightly to Harry, his screams piercing at 8:30 in the morning. Harry wanted so desperately to pick up his sick baby, but the quicker he got Darcy dressed, the quicker the morning could move on.

“It’s all right Noah,” Harry called loudly, over the boys screams. He was only sat at Harry’s feet, but that clearly wasn’t good enough. “Papa’s right here.”

“I don’t think he can hear you Papa,” Darcy spoke loudly, as Harry pulled a jumper over her head.

It took 2 minutes to get Darcy dressed, put her shoes on and brush her hair. Harry let out a breath of relief, scooping a still screaming Noah up off the floor and holding the boy close to his chest.

“Oh, my poor baby,” Harry spoke, rocking him slightly as he walked out of Darcy’s room and down the corridor to the kitchen. Darcy followed quickly behind. “Papa’s here now sweetheart. Papa’s here and Papa loves you.”

“Darcy loves you too Noah,” Darcy piped up, wiggling into a seat at the small kitchen table.

“Yeah,” Harry bounced Noah slightly, moving him so that he was now positioned of his hip. “Darcy-Doo loves you too.”

Harry whipped up some toast for breakfast, spreading a dolloping of Nutella on a slice for Darcy, as he struggled to get himself into trousers and Noah into a sky-blue footed onesie. Within 15 minutes, the family were heading out the door.

They arrived at Darcy’s nursery, 10 minutes late – but the staff didn’t mind. They knew the situation and they seemed to be very fond of Harry – having helped him get funded childcare hours for Darcy and reduced the pay by a certain amount for when the funded hours run out. Next, with Noah still in his arms, his red coat wrapped round him and his dummy securely in his mouth, Harry headed to the childminders next.

Little Noah screamed and screamed like he never screamed before when Harry handed him over to the nice old lady who was going to watch him while Harry was at work. Harry couldn’t help crying, as he walked out of the large house, his son’s cries making slash wounds in his heart – making him feel like a terrible Papa.

His next stop was work – arriving a whole 20 minutes late. His boss was stood outside the building, talking to the delivery truck driver when he spotted Harry approaching. Harry tried to scoot around him unnoticed, but the man held out his hand to stop Harry walking any further as he finished up his conversation with the driver.

When their conversation was finished, the truck driver got in the truck and drove off. Only then did the boss turn to look at him with a stern expression.

“Cutting it kind of close – aren’t we?”

“Sorry Sir,” Harry apologised, his politeness blatantly forced. “My son is really ill – I had to get him and my daughter ready for the day and then drop them off at separate places – and then,”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. You are always late to this job Styles – you never put enough effort in – you’re not a valued member of the team – you are causing everyone here to lag behind…”

“Excuse me?” Harry asked, his tiredness, frustration and desperation not mixing well with his tongue and quick words.

“You heard me! And to top it all off? You have taken off too many days recently.”

“My son is _sick_!” Harry yelled at him. “He is stuck with a childminder who he barely knows, screaming, coughing and throwing up because you forced me to get out of bed and attend this stupid fucking job! Well – you know what?” Harry spat at the man. “You can take your fucking job and shove it up your fucking ass – you bastard!”

With that, Harry turned sharply and began stalking away.

“Don’t let me see your sorry ass in here ever again Styles – you’re fired!”

____

Harry had returned immediately to the childminders to pick Noah up. He had used the walk there to calm himself, and now he was feeling the effects of losing his job – his rent was due soon and the cupboards at home were looking bare again.

As soon as he was led into the baby room, he spotted Noah sat on the lap of Lucy – his keyworker. His head was thrown back against her chest, fat tears staining his cheeks as he was still crying loudly. His voice was rough from his hour or so of constant crying – but as soon as he spotted Harry his hands flew out in the air, and his crying increased.

“Papa!” He all-but howled. Harry hurried forward, taking Noah in his arms. He held the boy close to his chest and buried his face in Noah’s brown locks, breathing in his baby scent.

“Papa’s got you bub,” Harry whispered to him, swaying from side to side as Noah’s crying slowed. “Papa’s never going to leave you again!”

When Noah’s crying had fallen to an almost stop, Harry offered the boy his dummy (it had been a lifesaver during his illness) and Noah took it instantly, his head falling tiredly against Harry’s chest, head tucked under Harry’s chin with his eyes half-lidded as he clinged tightly to Harry’s t-shirt.

“Would you look at that?” Lucy chuckled kindly as she walked back over to the duo – she had walked away previously to give the two a moment. “Papa’s special touch, eh?” She reached out and ruffled Noah’s hair. “We just don’t got what Papa’s got – do we Noah?”

The touch of someone else made Noah whimper and grip Harry’s shirt tighter.

“Oh Noah – I’m sorry hunny.”

“No, no,” Harry reassure the younger Beta girl. “I’m sorry. Sorry I left you with my whiny baby.”

“Oh, please! It’s absolutely fine – honestly I’ve dealt with worse.”

“I shouldn’t have brought him in. I’m really, really sorry!”

“Its fine,” Lucy smiled kindly. “He may have cried and screamed since you were gone – but he certainly didn’t like being put down, or being held by anyone that wasn’t me.”

“That’s something then, right?” Harry asked, pressing a kiss to Noah’s head of hair. The boy was practically asleep, finally reassured by the security that his Papa provided him with. “He just…” Harry didn’t know what to say, looking at Lucy. “I don’t even know. He hates not being in my arms. But there’s not much I can do… I feel so helpless.”

“You are not helpless. He’s ill; probably feeling very attacked and vulnerable with all his defences down – Papa is going to be the one to protect him from everything when he’s like this – that why he’s attached to you. And just be thankful that he’s not pushing you away, like some babies would when they’re ill. You would feel even more helpless then.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“You just take him home and get him better, okay?” Lucy spoke with a light tone, but Harry could tell the Beta was genially worried about him.

“I will, thank you Lucy, thank you!”

Harry left the childminders, but made no move to walk back home. He turned in the direction of town, and began walking to the job centre – he had to start looking for a new job ASAP.

____

Liam was stood to the side of the building, talking to many other business men about the prospect of new employees; that was, after all why they were all here. Liam was the top boss at a large finance company and it showed – he was dressed in a very expensive, posh, navy blue suit with black shoes so shiny that he could see his reflection in them. His hairstylist had perfected his hair quiff this morning and in his hand was the just-been-released iPhone 7.

He would be heading back to the offices shortly – only at the job centre to hold a meeting and to promote his line of work. The place was busy, but no one seemed to approach the clearly rich group of people – almost scared of them. Liam wasn’t fussed though, his current staff was good enough for him – it was everyone else who wanted to see some fresh faces.

Many of those that were wondering around the building, asking for jobs were Omegas. Liam knew how hard it was for an Omega to get a low paying job, let alone a higher paying one. But Liam was not a hypocrite and accepted you into his line of work, as long as he liked you, you had the right experience and you were what he was looking for. He had many Omega’s working for him, and most of them performed better than some of the Alpha’s he had working for him.

Liam did not have an Omega to call his own. Not yet anyway. He always had his eyes peeled, but no one ever really took his fancy. He was pretty sure that he would know when he met the one.

“Ready to go lads?” Niall, his blonde Beta friend and work college called out to everyone after a moment. There were a few murmurs of agreement and they all turned to pile out of the building. Liam was at the back of the line, bringing up the rear.

It was as they were leaving, walking single file out of the door, that the voice pierced through the quiet chatter and made everyone come to a silent standstill, including Liam.

“Please! There has to be something!!”

“I’m sorry Sir,” The voice of a lady spoke. Liam quickly pinpointed the source of the disturbance. A tall, curly haired Omega, wearing clothes that looked like they needed a good wash and looking in desperate need for a shower. On his hip was a small child, who jolted awake at the yell, and he started coughing. The Omega calmed the child, patting his back and brining the coughing to a stop. “There is nothing going that suits your criteria.”

“Please!” He begged. “There has just _got_ to be something! Anything! I’m desperate! My son is sick! My rent is due… I have no money for food! Please! I’m begging you!”

“I can put you on the waiting list…”

“That can take up to 18 months! I don’t have 18 months!” The Omega yelled, only proving to distress the child in his arms further.

The Omega had certainly grabbed the attention of everyone in the room, but no one more than Liam. Liam was in awe at the beauty of the younger lad, and he knew that he wanted him – this Omega was stunning, captivating and he had Liam’s brain reeling. Yet at the same time, Liam could sense the desperation being the Omega’s pleas – he could tell that the Omega was fighting, bringing up the child (or possibly children?) on his own, with no mate or Alpha to help him.

It was damn-near unheard of, an Omega living by themselves, let alone an Omega brining up children alone. There were no laws in place to say that Omega’s couldn’t live by themselves, or that they couldn’t bring up children by themselves; Omega’s just preferred the love, support and guidance of someone else – even if that someone was a Beta, although everyone knew they secretly preferred Alphas.

But all of what Liam was witnessing – he doesn’t think he’d ever seen an Omega in such torment before. It was almost painful for Liam to watch, and Liam wanted to do everything he could to help the boy.

So he did.

Leaving his friends and colleges standing in the doorway, Liam stalked forward. He weaved in and out of the people standing around watching the scene with interest – as if they had nothing better to do. He slowly approached the Omega, his scent becoming ever stronger and luscious – it had Liam’s heart beating faster as images flashed through his mind of what he could do to the lad.

“There is nothing more I can do, Sir,” The woman was being to sound aggravated now. “The only other thing I can suggest is coming back tomorrow.”

“I doubt there’ll be much of a change!” The Omega snapped, hand falling gracefully on top of the child’s head, and holding the crying boy to his shoulder with such gentleness.

“Excuse me,” Liam spoke, disturbing the brewing arguing.

Both the woman and the Omega turned to look at the intruder. Only then did they seem to realise that everyone was watching them – and that was when everyone slowly started to return to whatever it was they were doing before they had be interrupted.

“Can I help you?” The Omega asked, his tone just as snappy. Up close, he was more stunning and Liam knew that he wanted him more than anything. Of course, he wouldn’t just jump him – Liam had better respect than that… but he certainly would give a good go, trying to win him over.

The Omega looked tired, as if he hadn’t slept much in months. He was as snappy with Liam as he had been with the Beta woman sat behind the desk, and he looked like he did not give a shit about it. Liam couldn’t blame him; by the sounds of it, the whole world was against him.

“I couldn’t help but overhear you were looking for a job?”

The Omega opened his mouth to reply, but closed it at the last second as if deciding against it. He furrowed his eyebrows in thought before deciding to speak.

“I am,” He nodded, his voice clearly a forced politeness. Liam knew that the politeness was only forced due to the pent up anger wanting to break free in screams – it wasn’t because he did not want to speak to Liam.

Liam looked over to the woman behind the desk, nodding once, before motioning to the Omega to follow him to the side.

“My name’s Liam Payne,” Liam offered his hand.

“Harry…” The Omega looked reluctant to share his last name. “Styles. Harry Styles,” He spoke, trying to sound confident as he shook Liam’s hand.

“It’s lovely to meet you. I’m CEO of Payne Finances.”

“Yeah,” Harry nodded. “I’ve heard of your company.”

“That’s good then. Well, at the moment I’m actually looking for a PA – would you be interested?”

Harry looked disheartened at the job that Liam had offered him.

“I…” Harry glanced at the child lying his head on his shoulder. The boy was sucking on his dummy quiet viciously, and he had a small handful of Harry’s t-shirt in his small grip. “I don’t think I have the right qualifications, sorry. I honestly thought you were going to offer me a job in the tea room or something.”

“Fortunately, we already have staff working in the tea room,” Liam spoke seriously. “I would like to offer you the job as my PA – no matter what your qualifications.”

“I don’t have any qualifications – apart from my GCSE’s.”

“That’s fine; my current PA is leaving in a week – if you came in tomorrow, I’m sure she could show you the ropes. It’s a rather easy job to do. And besides, I’d always lend a hand if ever you needed it.”

“A week? You know, even if I had the qualifications – I need the money ASAP… not in a week, sorry Sir.”

“I don’t care about your qualifications and the money would be yours from day 1 – I want to help you.”

Harry looked like he was thinking it over, having a thorough debate with himself over the right choice.

“Say I do… take up the job that is… what would the hours be like? And the pay?”

“You would work Monday to Friday – and maybe the odd Saturday. 8am to 6pm most days. £10 an hour.”

Harry let out a silent whistle at the price that he could be earning. He’d be lucky to get £3 an hour in ahis previous jobs.

“And of course – as you improve, your pay would increase.”

“Look Mr Payne; it really is awfully kind of you… that’s a lot of money – really it is. But, it’s a long day – I don’t have the money to pay for that many hours of childcare a day for my children.”

“How many children do you have?” Liam asked, nothing that it was children – not child.

“Two Sir, my daughter is currently at Nursery. I’m barely managing to scrape that together now.”

“Look, whenever you’re with me – as there may be other times when I have to ask you to come into work – I will pay for any childcare pay, including babysitting.”

“What? No! I can’t ask you to do that!”

“Please, I would really like you to come and work for me. I think you could be a very useful asset to our team.”

Harry fell silent again, fingers absentmindedly threading through his son’s hair.

“Okay,” He whispered, as if he had just convinced himself to take a leap of faith. “I’ll give it a try.”

“That’s fantastic! Can you start tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” He nodded slowly, still speaking unsurely. “Tomorrow.”

“Great!” Liam quickly pulled out a business card from the inside of his jacket. “If you arrive for about 9 tomorrow morning, that would be good. Walk up to the front desk and tell them that your my new PA – they’ll show you straight up.”

“Okay,” Harry took the business card, wondering whether he had made the right decision. “Got it.”

“It was lovely to meet you Harry. I shall see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Harry replied, looking up from the card he was reading, to watch Liam walk away from him.

“What have I just agreed to Noah?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to work out (not necessarily for this story though) whether to have a side of Steeran (Ed Sheeran x Harry Styles) or Gryles (Nick Grimshaw x Harry Styles) or even (THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTION ANONYMOUSE) Jarry (Josh Cuthbert X Harry Styles)  
> So, let me know which pairing you prefer - Steeran V Gryles V Jarry!!  
> Thank you for sticking with me guys!! And thank you for reading, commenting and expressing your love in kudos, bookmarks and by subscribing!! It means so much to me and i know that I wouldn't have got nearly as far as I have without all of your support!!  
> Feedback is appreciated!!  
> xxRiverMagicxx


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We delve into Liam's past a little and Noah is on the mend!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to have a sad ending to this, but it was so happy - i couldn't make it angsty!!

** Chapter 4 **

Darcy chatted happily as she sat at the small kitchen table with a thick crayon in her hand, as she scribbled a picture on a piece of paper in front of her. Harry had no idea what she was babbling on about, barely able to keep up with her fast pace and mispronounce words. Harry just nodded and hummed along when he felt it was appropriate to do so. Darcy didn’t seem to mind that her Papa was distracted and not playing that much attention to her.

Harry was sat in front of Noah’s highchair, spoon feeding his tired, grumpy, baby boy some lukewarm porridge – perfectly able to see Darcy out of the corner of his eye and make sure that she wasn’t getting into too much trouble. He tried to cheer Noah up a bit, making funny faces as he guided the spoon into Noah’s awaiting, open mouth; but Noah chewed the lumpy substance with a Nick-like frown on his face.

After Harry had returned from the Job Centre with Noah yesterday, the infant had fallen asleep. Harry had chanced placing him on his back in his play pen so that he could tidy up a bit. He had expected Noah to instantly wake up to scream again, like he had been doing previously, but miraculously Noah seemed to have tuckered himself out completely with all the coughing and crying and didn’t bat an eyelid at being placed down. Harry had made sure not to stray too far, in case the little lad had a coughing fit and Harry needed to get to him. He had slept most of the day, only waking when Harry smelt a dirty nappy and lifted him up to change him. He didn’t go back to sleep after that and was happy to sit on his Papa’s lap, soother in mouth as he sucked away furiously at it. Harry had to put him down so that he could make tea; as expected, he cried the whole time – but it was no longer a scream, a demand… instead it sounded like a very fed up wail, and Harry knew that his baby boy was tired of being ill. He’d managed to get Noah to eat some of his tea, a few bites of his chicken nuggets and a mouthful of carrots – but it wasn’t really enough and Harry knew that he’d be up in the middle of the night with a very hungry 11 month old. So, as he supervised Darcy getting ready for bed, he abandoned his shirt, got Noah comfortable in the crook of his arm and allowed him to latch onto his nipple and suckle away happily. That was how Noah fell asleep, content against his Papa’s chest, mouth still attached to the source of his milk.

After that Noah had slept through the whole night, only waking once with a small cough. It had been the best night sleep that Harry had had in a long time; and that was a good thing, considering his new job that he had to attend for the first time today.

Harry was still unsure about it, this Liam Payne seemed very quick to offer him a PA job… Harry had tried to explain to him, he literally had no qualifications beside his GCSE’s, and even they were a flop. He didn’t have any experience either, and the pay was so high… not to mention the childcare benefits that apparently also came with the package. It all seemed too good to be real and Harry had spent hours yesterday debating whether or not to actually show up at 9AM, scared that it was all just a big wind up.

But, after careful consideration, he had decided to arrive at Payne Finances at the requested time; because if this was a legit job offering, with legit pay, and legit benefits, then it was too good an opportunity to pass up. And if he didn’t go, he knew that he’d spend the rest of his life regretting that decision, possibly selling himself off as a prostitute to make money to keep his children safe and fed with a roof over their heads.

“Alright,” Harry decided to give up on Noah and his porridge. Noah hadn’t been too pleased when Harry had placed the porridge on his highchair tray earlier, he’d pushed the plastic spoon from Harry’s hands when he had been offered it and if it hadn’t been for Harry’s quick reflexes, there would have been porridge all over the kitchen floor. So Harry had to settle with feeding Noah, after trying what felt like a bajillion times to get Noah to feed himself. “You finished your apple Darcy-Doo?”

“Yes Papa.”

“Goodie, goodie,” Harry smiled over at her as he pulled Noah up out of his highchair. He placed his son on his ground, by his feet – suspecting him to start crying and attempting to climb his legs, but Noah just sat there, shoving his thumb in his mouth for comfort. “Pack up your crayons baby girl,” He told Darcy kindly. “Then we’ll go get ready for Nursery, okay?”

“Papa?” Darcy asked as she reached for her Minnie Mouse pencil case that was empty because she’d tipped her crayons all over the table.

Harry hummed his reply as he reached for the half empty plastic bowl of porridge from Noah’s highchair tray and moved to reach across the table for Darcy’s own plastic bowl, that was empty.

“Can we go to the park after Nursery?”

Harry thought about it for a moment; he didn’t know how long he was going to be at Payne Finances or how busy he was going to be, or how worn out he was going to feel once he’d finished and picked up his two children. It wasn’t just that, but Noah still wasn’t 100%, and Harry didn’t know whether his son was going to get worse as the day went on.

He was about to say no, that they’d go another day when Papa wasn’t so busy and Noah was feeling better; but Noah spoke out before Harry could.

“Park?” He asked in a watery voice. Harry’s head snapped to Noah, who was still sat where Harry had put him down. He was dressed in nothing but his nappy and a loose t-shirt, as the weather was getting warmer; his eyes were large and swimming in unshed tears and Harry just wanted to scoop him up and squeeze him. Noah didn’t yet have a wide vocabulary, yet he was slightly advanced for his age – but this was the first word, besides ‘Papa’ that he’d said since falling ill. Harry couldn’t help but smile at the little boy as he picked him up from the floor, proud that he was clearly making improvements.

“Yeah,” Harry cooed, pressing a small, gentle kiss to Noah’s cheek. He turned to Darcy, “Yeah, we can go to the park after Nursery.”

~ WS ~

Liam sat lounged in his desk chair, feet folded over one another and placed up on the table – inches from his expensive laptop. His suit jacket was thrown carelessly over the guest chair opposite him, his tie undone, casually resting around his neck and the first few buttons of his pristine white shirt were undone.

On his desk a ‘Best Boss’ mug, filled with coffee sat cold and untouched, his laptop unopened and turned off and his page-a-day calendar was still showing yesterday’s date. Liam had arrived 20 minutes previously and the only thing that he had done was clock himself in, make himself a coffee and plug his phone in.

And then, the phone had only been plugged in just in case a certain Omega arrived early; even though it was barely 7:15AM. He usually arrived at 7AM, so that he had arrived in plenty of time – before everyone else had arrived and so that he could get a few things done and out of the way before 8AM rolled by.

But, this morning, all he had done was make himself a coffee, loosen his tie, take of his jacket, unbutton his shirt and put his feet up as if he was at home. He had other things on his mind, and had had since meeting the Omega yesterday. It had brought back memories, thoughts and feelings that he rarely visited – and he had plenty of questions that he wanted to ask Harry but, they were really too personal.

His office phone buzzed, the little light at the top lighting up red and catching his attention; it was the main reception paging him. He was quick to slide his feet of the desk and reach across to press the answer button.

“Yes?” He wanted to come across as he normally did, calm, collected, professional and formal; but instead he sounded excited and overly enthusiastic. He silently scolded himself. “I mean,” He coughed, clearing his throat and pulling himself together quickly. He put on his business voice. “Yes?”

“Good Morning Mr Payne,” Rosie, who was the main receptionist called through the phone’s speaker. “Miss Tracy is on her way up.”

“Good. And you told her that I wanted to see her immediately?” He asked, pressing another button on the office phone, so that Rosie was on loud speaker. He jumped up and went about making himself presentable, re-buttoning his shirt and re-tying his tie.

“Yes Mr Payne; she said she’d be right up.”

“That’s great, thank you Rosie,” He thanked the Omega, as he hung up the phone. He slipped his suit jacket back on and rushed about the office, trying to make it look like he’d been busy since he’d arrived. He opened a few windows, allowing the warm spring air to waft into the room; the cold coffee was poured into the soil of his office plant, in the corner of the room and then placed back on the desk. He sat down in his office chair, pulled open his laptop and turned it on, allowing it to slowly wake up and ripped the page off of his page-by-day calendar carelessly and throwing yesterday’s date into the recycling box behind him.

He was just logging into his work email when a knock sounded at his office door. He pulled open his desk draw and pulled out his refill pad of paper that he used every day. He grabbed a pen from the pen pot and placed them beside his computer (feeling ever so lucky that he still had yesterday’s work written on the paper, so it made it look like he had been working hard).

“Come in,” He called loudly at the door – shutting the draw with a loud slam.

He glanced up as the door opened and the scent of his current PA, Tracy, travelled to his nose.

“Good morning Tracy,” He smiled at her kindly.

“Good morning Sir,” Tracy smiled back as she walked further into the room. “Rosie said you wanted to see me Sir?”

“Yes, I do,” Liam explained, eyes glancing back to his laptop as it dinged to alert him of a new email. “Come, take a seat.”

Tracy did just that as Liam quickly read over the email. He made a mental note to reply later, pushed his laptop screen down part way so that he could clearly see his PA opposite him.

“How’s your job hunting going?” He asked her politely, offering her a boiled sweet from the glass bowl that was always on his desk. She took one with a small thanks before she jumped into conversation with her boss.

“I haven’t had too much luck yet, but I have applied for a couple of PA jobs over in Liverpool,” She explained. “Reece is having better luck than me, he’s found a job a couple of streets away from our new house.”

“Well, please send my congratulations to Reece,” Liam offered lightly. “And I am sure that you’ll get offers for all the places you’ve applied for. You are the best at your job, and I’d be happy to put a word in if you would like.”

“Oh, thank you Liam!” She beamed, almost as if she was going to ask Liam if he would do so, yet being too nervous to actually build up the courage to actually do it. Tracy shared the information about the three jobs that she’d applied for in Liverpool and Liam jotted it all down, taking a note of which one that she’d prefer to have.

Tracy had worked for Payne Finances for roughly 5 years, out of the 7 that they had been running. Liam hadn’t originally wanted a PA, believing that he could do a lot of things himself, but he soon realised that being the boss of what felt like an overnight success business was a lot harder than he’d first imagined; not that he couldn’t handle it, it just became a lot easier when he employed Tracy for the first time as his PA and allowed her to handle everything from arranging travel when Liam was scheduled to do so, to producing and filing documents and managing Liam’s time. Tracy was excellent at her job, and Liam would be lying if he said he hadn’t been upset when she handed in her resignation. She was moving up to Liverpool to start a family with her Beta mate and husband, Reece. He was happy for them both.

“How about you Liam,” She asked casually, happy enough to call Liam by his first name – he often chastised her for calling him ‘Mr Payne’ or ‘Sir’ as it made it so formal, although both Alpha and Beta had agreed that there were times when she might need to. “How’s your hunting going? Have you found someone to take over me after I’ve left?”

“Actually, I think I might have,” Liam nodded, just as his office phone started ringing again. It wasn’t the main reception light at the top of the phone that lit up, it was his co-manager Louis. He didn’t answer, sending it straight through to voicemail – if it was important, then Louis would phone back.

“At the Job Centre yesterday,” He continued, turning to carry on his conversation with Tracy.

“I thought you were going to advertise the job elsewhere?” Tracy offered; she should know, having spent two hours yesterday drawing up the advertisement plans.

“I was going to, and I apologise for asking you to do all that work yesterday – as it turns out, we probably won’t need it.”

“Don’t worry, its fine,” She shrugged. “I’ll save it to the hard drive, and you can use it when and if your new PA ever leaves; saves them the hassle of having to do it.”

Tracy was ever so good like that.

“Thank you Tracy, that’s very thoughtful of you. I actually called to see you this morning, because of my new PA. He’s an Omega, possibly bringing up his two young children by himself.”

“Ever the Robin Hood,” Tracy laughed lightly, her words proving to be a compliment to Liam’s heart.

His childhood had been a good one, but there were evident downsides to it. His father hadn’t been in the picture, leaving his Omega mother to bring him up by herself. His father was alive, but he had left when he had found out that his girlfriend was pregnant. Liam had never known his father and has hated him ever since he had been old enough to understand that what the man had done was cowardly, running away like he had… especially considering that he was a 20 year old Alpha that had knocked up his then 16 year old Omega mother (it had been completely consenting on both parts, but that in no way made it okay for him to leave his underage mother to cope by herself with a new born). His grandparents hadn’t exactly been happy when they found out their only daughter was expecting, and had all but kicked her out. Her brother, Liam’s Uncle, Bradley, had taken her in throughout her last year of school and her pregnancy, and allowed her to stay living with him after Liam was born. They lived with the Beta man up until Liam turned 1, and only then did they move out because his mother had not wanted to be a burden to her brother or his new girlfriend. She had found a job, although it hadn’t been great money, and she would drop Liam off at her brothers when she needed to go to work, as she didn’t have enough money for childcare. When Liam reached three, she was able to claim a certain amount of free childcare hours and so enrolled him in the local pre-school, and before long Liam was starting school, quickly growing up. Liam had had a great childhood, even though he had had next to nothing, because his mother earned little and what she did earn went on necessities to keep them both alive and kicking. His mother loved him with all her heart and was more than he could have ever asked for. So, he had grown up in poverty – that didn’t mean that he loved his mother any less or his mother loved him any less; if anything it had been what had spurred Liam on to help people, to be a better man that his absent father ever was! He studied in finances, and with a few friends had opened up Payne Finances and had just grown from their – it had started off as a bank, and now they were stationed all across the country and provided financial support when it was needed. Not only that, but he helped out a lot of charities, although he sent a lot of money to a single Omega parents charity that helped out people just like his mother. He was known to buy warm bread rolls, fruit, coats and shoes for homeless people that he came across and helped them find shelter so that they could have a safe night’s sleep, off of the street. But, most importantly, he helped his mother out – paying her back for everything that she had done and given up for him.

Liam couldn’t help the huge smile that lit up his face at the compliment that Tracy graced him with.

“I do try,” He offered modestly. “Well anyway, his name is Harry. But he doesn’t have any qualifications, bless him – I’ve invited him in today at 9, said you’d show him the ropes and what not… I know it’s your last week Tracy, but I would be ever so grateful if you would spend this week just training him up a little bit?”

“Liam, of course I will – you needn’t have asked. This lad will be an expert by the time I’ve finished with him!”

~ WS ~

It was a nice day, the sun was out and there was a nice cool breeze accompanying it. Harry was sat at one of the picnic benches, by himself out the back of the offices. He had been told to go and have a break and had made himself comfortable in the sunshine, so that he could eat his sandwiches. It had nothing in it, just butter as he had used the last of the ham for Darcy’s and Noah’s sandwiches for their pack lunches.

It was quiet outside, a few others outside eating their lunch together. Harry felt a little lonely, but he would manage – especially if the pay was £10 an hour! And he was sure that if he became a regular, full time colleague he would get to know some people.

“Zayn,” A voice cried desperately behind him, grabbing his attention. “Zayn, baby please!”

“No!” A raven haired Omega snapped, whizzing around to face the slightly shorter Alpha. Harry could tell instantly that they were mated, their scents mingled together in a way only mated couple’s scents could. “You’re a dick! A twat! I can’t believe you!”

“Zayn, I had to cancel it! I have other priorities!”

“What could be more important than me, _the Omega that you are mated to?!_ ”

“Nothing Zee! Nothing is more important than you!”

“Fuck you! Your other priorities obviously come before me!” The Omega, Zayn, turned and began stalking away at a pace that put distance between him and his Alpha quickly. “Don’t you dare bother turning up at home tonight!” He screamed at him, not looking back. “Or I’ll be leaving – for good!”

The Alpha called his name a few times, trying to get his attention, but Zayn was long gone. The Alpha stood there for a few minutes, seething and clearly debating whether or not to go after the Omega; but when he decided against it, he turned to those who were watching in shock – Harry included.

“What the hell are you all looking at?” He cried at them all before turning and marching in the opposite direction to his Omega, back into the building.

Harry had no idea what had just happened, shocked that something like that had happened in a place like this… it clearly set such a great example, and Harry had no allusions that it was going to be a hot topic all over the work place in under 30 minutes straight.

He had only eaten one half of his sandwich before he decided that he was going to phone Noah’s childminder, and find out just how his baby boy was doing. Harry had left him this morning, crying for his Papa to come back, and boy did Harry feel bad.

The cheap mobile rang a couple of times before a kind voice spoke down the speaker to him.

“Happy Feet Childminders, Wendy speaking. How may I help you?”

“Hiya Wendy, it’s Harry,” He started.

“Harry, hi! How’s your job training thing going?” She laughed, quoting him from this morning.

“It’s going great thanks! I uh, I phoned just to check on Noah. Is he okay now?”

“Little guys fine,” Wendy explained, her voice lighting up in a way that it hadn’t just now. “He cried for a little after you left, and then settled down in Lucy’s arms where he fell asleep. We chanced putting him down and he slept for about an hour. After that he sat down in the ball pit with the cutest pout ever on his face. He didn’t eat a lot of his lunch mind you, although we did try – most of it ended up on the floor.”

Harry laughed.

“When doesn’t it! Not to worry, I’ll be sure to bring a snack later for him,” He let out a happy sigh. “And he’s okay now?”

“He’s currently sat singing songs with Graham,” She chuckled. “Well, I say singing. He’s sat in Graham’s lap, dummy in mouth as Graham sings to him and a few others.”

“That’s great. Thank you Wendy!”

“No worries Harry, I know how nerve wracking it can be when your little one’s not well and you can’t be there to care for them. Don’t worry though, we’re taking very care good of him.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, no. I’ll be by at about 3:30 to pick him up, is that alright?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Any different, just give us a shout.”

“Will do, thank you again Wendy.”

He was quick to end the call when he noticed Liam, his new boss, approaching him.

“Hiya Harry,” Liam called. “Mind if I sit with you?”

“Not at all,” Harry invited him to sit down with a gesture to the seat opposite him.

“How are you finding it? Tracy treating you well I hope?”

“Yeah,” Harry smiled. “She’s great, and ever so kind. The amount of times I’ve had to ask her to show me things repeatedly, and she hasn’t once got frustrated with me.”

“Tracy’s good like that,” Liam smiled, setting a clear tub on the table in front of him, filled with generously filled sandwiches, cakes and a selection of fruits. “She is one of the kindest people you ever did meet.”

“She sure is,” Harry agreed, his voice a little sat at the sight of the food Liam had in front of him, practically teasing his rumbling stomach.

He watched Liam pull the lid off of his lunch box and delve into it to pick out the bagged sandwiches. It looked like chicken salad, and it looked absolutely scrumptious. Harry suddenly felt overly conscious of his butter filled bread and he looked back down at it, taking a small bite – trying not to draw too much attention to himself.

“Here,” Liam offered, placing the bagged sandwiches down in front of him. “Have a sandwich.”

“Oh,” Harry was stunned. It was a really generous offer, and one that Harry wanted to snap up. But he was a little ashamed to accept it; it seemed as though Liam was helping Harry out because he was poor… “No, no; it’s alright. Thank you anyway.”

He took another bite out of his own sandwich, if you could even call it that.

“Honestly Harry, I want you to have it. Besides, I’ve eaten a large pasty from the cafeteria,” Liam explained as he picked out an orange from the clear box. It wasn’t a lie, Harry himself had seen Liam eating it when he’d gone in to hand over some paperwork earlier.

“Are…” Harry’s stomach grumbled quietly in want. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Harry quickly ditched his bread and butter for the extremely delicious chicken salad sandwich in front of him. He took one bite of it and couldn’t help the moan – it was extremely satisfying to his empty stomach.

Liam chuckled.

“Nice?” He asked kindly. Harry nodded.

Harry was quick to finish the sandwiches, and refused anything else that Liam offered him – not wanting to come across as greedy or unappreciative. He thanked Liam plenty for the food, and didn’t stop until Liam moved the conversation on.

“Tell me a bit about yourself?” Liam asked, before taking a big bite of one of the tiny cupcakes from his lunch.

“What is there to tell?” Harry asked. “I’m basically a nobody.”

“That’s not true; everyone’s somebody… everyone’s important.”

Harry smiled up at him with a soft smile. That was really kind of him to say so, but Harry wasn’t so sure.

“I bet to your children, you’re a hero!” Liam exclaimed enthusiastically. “And what about your partner? I bet anything that they think you’re not a nobody.”

Liam was testing the waters, trying to find out just who was in Harry’s life, trying to get to know the beautiful Omega in front of him. He could tell that Harry wasn’t mated, and doubted that he actually had the Alpha father of his children around… but he couldn’t be certain.

“Yeah… he used to…” Harry said sadly, a smile to match his sad tone on his face. He looked like he was swimming in memories of something, or someone.

Liam halted, about to eat the other half of his cupcake. Harry’s choice of words shocked him, and he didn’t know what to make of them.

“Used to?” Liam asked cautiously, moving the cupcake from his mouth to place it on the table in front of him.

“Yeah,” Harry swallowed loudly. “My Alpha… Nick, he… he passed 3 months ago.”

And suddenly, Liam felt like a jerk. Harry was sat in front of him, tears swimming in his eyes. Liam hadn’t known – he wouldn’t have asked if he had. Harry had been mated, and had had that just ripped from him in an instant – Liam didn’t know what it felt like to be mated, but he had heard stories about what it felt like to have you beloved leave you in that way; it hurt… and not just emotionally, physically too.

Harry wiped at his eyes quickly, keeping the tears at bay. Liam didn’t know what to say, he sat there in silence for a moment or two, his face betraying how truly sorry he was.

“Harry,” He paused, unsure how to continue. “I’m… I’m so sorry.”

Harry nodded, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth, to stop it wobbling. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and let out a loud sob as he felt the first tear escape down his cheek. His hands moved to hide his face when he realised he wasn’t going to be able to stop them.

Liam knew what he had to do; he was rushing round the table and sliding onto the bench beside Harry before anyone could blink. His arms went carefully around the delicate Omega, hesitant for a moment as he wasn’t sure how Harry was going to react. But, as soon as Liam slid an arm around his shoulder, Harry fell into his chest, sobbing quietly as tears continued to pour from his eyes.

Harry hadn’t cried much over Nick’s death, but he had done his fair share of it. But he hadn’t cried like this since he’d sat Darcy down 3 days after the accident and told her that Daddy wasn’t coming home. He and Darcy had curled up together on the sofa, under her Peppa Pig blanket, crying together – although he wasn’t sure Darcy knew 100% what was going on, she certainly had a concept of death. He had spent the whole first day an emotional wreck, he hadn’t been able to sleep in his and Nick’s bed and instead slept on the sofa and only got up because his children needed him. The second day hadn’t been much better – although Harry had decided to get out of the house and take Darcy and Noah to the park to kill some time. They spent almost all day there, and as soon as they walked back into the house, Harry had broken down again, unable to tell either of his children what was wrong. And it was on the third day when Darcy asked Papa where Daddy was. That had been the worst of the crying, seeing how it destroyed his little princess so badly. Darcy had cried herself to sleep that night, and Harry had decided that he was going to be strong for his children, from that moment on.

Liam rocked Harry back and forth slightly, rubbing his hand up and down his arm in comfort. He rested his head atop of Harry’s thick hair, a frown on his face as he inwardly cursed at himself.

Harry decided that the reason it had been so long since he’d cried like this was because he’d never had anyone there to comfort him (the police officers had provided some comfort, but there was only so much that they could actually do). He had to be the one to comfort his children, and had no one there to be a shoulder to cry on; Liam was the first person to be just that.

“Harry, I’m so sorry… I wouldn’t have… I didn’t mean to intrude…” Liam tried to make things right, and apologise for being a complete jerk. Harry shook his head, as a sign that told Liam it wasn’t his fault, and clutched onto the pristine white shirt that Liam was wearing. Liam didn’t care, he only wrapped his arms that little bit tighter around the Omega.

For 15 minutes, Harry cried with earnest, making himself a brewing headache. When his crying finally slowed, he pulled out of Liam’s embrace, a little embarrassed at his outburst. But he realised that Liam had no qualms about it, if his sorrowed face had anything to go by.

“I’m sorry,” Harry’s voice was thick with the tears as he wiped at his eyes and face, attempting to rid any evidence of his crying.

“Hey, don’t be,” Liam placed a soft hand on Harry’s shoulder. “I don’t mind at all. I’m sorry for bringing it up… if I had realised…”

“Exactly, you didn’t know. It’s fine…” Harry shrugged, unable to look at Liam. He felt like he’d blown that good first impression that he’d been working on all day.

The two sat in silence for another moment, as Harry slowly got himself together again.

“Thank you,” He whispered, making Liam jump. What was he thankful for? Harry answered Liam’s quizzical expression. “I think that brake down was a long time coming.”

“What do you mean?” Liam asked softly.

“Nick was the only Alpha in my life after my parents died – I had to be strong for my children. I haven’t had anyone to wrap their arms around me since…”

Liam was shocked into silence. He had no other option but to admire Harry’s strength and determination to carry on; losing a mate made most people go crazy. Harry really was an inspiration to Liam – and Liam wanted to do anything he could to help him.

“Harry – any time you ever…” Why was this so difficult to say? Liam struggled to continue. “If you ever need someone to wrap their arms around you… a shoulder to cry on…”

“Thanks,” Harry sent a sideways smile towards Liam, getting the message that the Alpha was trying to send.

~ WS ~

“Oh my baby boy,” Harry cooed, lifting Noah into the air, high above his head. The little giggle that broke across Noah’s face warmed Harry right to the core. It had been ages since he’d seen that smile and heard that laugh – it was music to his ears.

“Papa!” He squealed, little arms finding their way around Harry’s neck. Harry happily wrapped his own arms around Noah.

“Papa missed you bub,” Harry hummed to him, absolutely ecstatic that his little prince wasn’t upset, or crying. He was clearly on the mend, for which Harry was grateful.

Lucy spotted him and made a beeline for the two.

“Well, I must say,” She smiled kindly. “We certainly had a happier Noah today.”

She went about telling Harry what Noah had got up to today, and before long they were leaving. Noah was squirming to get down, and Harry – who realised they had plenty of time to get to Darcy’s Nursery, put him down on his feet and took his hand.

“It sounds like you had a very busy day Noah,” Harry cooed at him as he began walking slowly, bent over slightly so that he could comfortably hold his son’s hand without causing the 1 year old to hurt his arm. He wasn’t going to let Noah walk too far, knowing that he wasn’t a strong enough walker to do so just yet – but he was happy to indulge his happy little boy; it had been ages since he’d smiled and Harry wanted to keep him happy for as long as possible.

Noah started to babble, looking up at Harry with admiration. Harry continued to talk to him as if they were having a conversation, telling him all about his day in his new job, in the big, big office. Harry liked to think that Noah’s babbling was him telling his Papa all about his day too.

As they got closer to the Nursery that Darcy attended, Harry took Noah into his arms again and crossed the road to enter the building. Noah settled down happily with his head resting against Harry’s shoulder, fingers tangling into Harry’s long hair.

“Papa!” Darcy cried as soon as she saw him. She rushed up to him and wrapped her arms around Harry’s legs.

“Darcy-Doo!” Harry bent and expertly scooped Darcy into his arms as well. She didn’t get picked up as often since Nick had gone, because Noah took up Harry’s arm space most of the time.

She squealed happily, and latched onto Harry’s shoulder, being careful of Noah.

“Did you have a good day baby girl?”

“I played with the play-dough!” She exclaimed, as if this was the only thing she’d done all day. “And – and – and… we went outside to have lunch!”

“You did?!” Harry asked in mock surprise. “Wow! Aren’t you a lucky girl?”

Harry lowered Darcy back to the ground so that he could sign her out. She followed beside Harry with a little skip to her step as she continued to tell Harry all about her day. Harry told her to go and get her lunchbox as he talked to Gemma, Darcy’s keyworker about how she had been today. She’d had a little head bump with a friend in the garden, but they had kept a close eye on it, but it all seemed to be okay.

“Papa?” Darcy asked, holding Harry’s hand as they walked out of the nursery.

“Yes Darcy?”

“Are we still going to the park?”

Harry, who would rather go home and get into some snuggly pjs after the busy day that he had had, held back the groan. He had been hoping that Darcy was going to forget, but she was a clever little miss, and Harry had to smile at that.

“Of course we are!” He declared with an outrageous tone, as if he couldn’t imagine Darcy had implied such a thing.

“Park?” Noah asked, head popping back into Harry’s line of sight.

“Yep,” Harry smiled at him. “And how about some ice-cream?”

“Really?” Darcy squealed happily, pulling on Harry’s shirt. “Really Papa? Really?”

“Yeah!” Harry beamed at the happiness that rolled off of his daughter. “You can have whatever ice-cream you like!”

“Can I have the red one?” She asked, bouncing up and down as they stopped at the traffic lights and waited to cross.

“Of course you can! And Noah can have the yellow one he likes so much!” Harry spoke to his son that time, bouncing him slightly in his arms.

They continued on their journey to the park, and Harry couldn’t remember a time after Nick’s death where he had been as happy as he felt right now; surrounded by his two happy, smiley children who were his whole word. He wanted this moment to last forever.

**Author's Note:**

> FOLLOW FOR UPDATES;  
> TUMBLR; http://xxwildmagicxx.tumblr.com/


End file.
